Source: Christian Petersen / Getty
The
Los Angeles Lakers are sending the rookie to its G League affiliate, where he’ll make his debut on Saturday against the Salt Lake City Stars, who are affiliated with the Utah Jazz.
However, Bronny will be active on Friday’s roster as the Lakers take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s the beginning of a pattern, as James plans to only play in South Bay games for home games, a decision that Lakers head coach JJ Redick made last month.
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“Our plans are always fluid based on real-time. I believe we have two guys dressing today that, as of yesterday, we’re not dressing out,” Redick
said in October. “The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one. Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that.”
Through his rookie season, Bronny hasn’t been able to produce with his limited minutes, only scoring four points in total, coming off a troubled season at USC, where he suffered from
cardiac arrest.
However, even his father, LeBron, understands that he needs time to develop his skills. He is excited to see how he evolves in the G League and hopes he makes a big impact when he gets called back up.
“Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player, no matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team, and him continuing to get better and better and better. His job is to put the work in and get better and better, just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable, and he’s going to hold us accountable,” LeBron said. “And if we all do that, we all get better, because we’re all one team. We’re a reflection of South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us.”
Players picked towards the latter half of the NBA draft often spend time in the G League and return to the NBA for formidable careers.
Despite Bronny’s athletic prowess not being at his father’s level yet, his star power is.
TMZ reports that ticket prices for his South Bay Lakers debut at UCLA Health Training Center have skyrocketed from $60 to $293.
See how social media is reacting to Bronny’s G League journey below.
